CFO Centre provides part-time CFO services to growing companies to help free up CEOs' time and increase cash flow. It operates in 30 offices across 10 countries, supporting over 550 clients. In Singapore, the business is run by Steve Settle, who believes most business owners want to spend more time on core activities and less on finance problems, so CFO Centre aims to systematically address finance issues to enable long-term stability and scaling.

1. CFO Centre works with growing
companies across all sectors, with the
objectives of freeing up the CEOs’ time
and increasing business cashflow. It
is a subsidiary of FD Centre, a market
leader in the UK, where it has been
operating for 14 years. The group now
has 30 offices across 10 countries, with a
network of more than 300 senior finance
professionals working to support more
than 550 clients.
In Singapore, the business is run by Steve
Settle, the Regional Director for Asia.
Steve moved to Singapore with his family
15 years ago as the Regional CFO for
Asia Pacific of Thomson Financial (now
Thomson Reuters).
Steve states, “We have found, working
with our clients around the world, that
most business owners are typically looking
Ambitious SMEs can
Access the Capabilities of
an Experienced CFO for a
Fraction of the Price
Having inputs from a part-time CFO can improve the cash flow situation in
small businesses, and even turn around such companies in danger of folding.
E
stablishing and running a small
business is both challenging and
exciting. The empowerment gives a
feeling of tremendous freedom and control
over one’s destiny, tempered by the reality
that the buck really does stop with you!
As a business grows, what begins as a
handful of like-minded pioneers can quickly
mushroom, causing the organisational
alignment to become blurred. Central to
the organisation, the founder/owner/CEO
may well find him/herself struggling to hold
the business together to keep it moving
forward. Reporting and assessment tend
to be informal, focused on compliance
and backward rather than being forward
looking, Cashflow management is
imperative and many businesses will fail
due to the inability to forecast cash
movements when there is a change in
the economic landscape.
WWW.BRITCHAM.ORG.SG
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About the Author
Steve Settle was born in the
UK and has a Masters Degree
in Engineering Science from
St. Johns College, Cambridge
and an MBA from Macquarie
University in New South Wales,
Australia. He is a Fellow of
the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England and
Wales and a member of Institute
of Chartered Accountants in
Australia. In addition to being
the Regional Director of CFO
Centre, he is authorized by the
Monetary Authority of Singapore
to provide financial advisory
services and is currently President
of The British Club.
Contact details:
steve.settle@cfocentre.com.sg
+65 9776 0969
www.cfocentre.com.sg
for the same thing, namely to spend
more of their time doing the things they
enjoy doing the most and are best at;
the things they envisaged doing when
they first set up the business!
Consequently, our main objective is to
take away or prevent the problems of
their finance department in a systematic
and proactive way, and build the company
infrastructure to underpin long-term
stability, enabling the business to scale.”
Most SMEs probably do not need nor
can they afford a full-time CFO to
improve business efficiency, focus on
key business drivers and manage risk.
The inputs from a part-time CFO can
be invaluable, and can even save a
business from bankruptcy or if looking
to sell the business, significantly improve
the cash multiple.